raising hope | s.m

♡Eighteen♡

Maya

It's Christmas today and I'm fixing us breakfast. Shawn and Hope are still asleep. I feel arms snake around my waist as I fix some eggs. He rests his chin on my shoulder.

"Merry Christmas," he mumbles. His voice is raspy.

"Merry Christmas to you too sleepy head," I tease. He kisses my cheek. 

"Are we having guests over?"

"Yes, I invited Haylie and Katie. If you want you can invite some friends." He kisses my shoulder and chuckles. "What?"

"I don't think you want my 'friends' here." Pursing my lips, I take the skillet with the eggs off of the stove.

"Well, what about Noah and your trainer?" He takes a deep breath and I turn to him.

"I'm pretty sure Noah would come. Mason on the other hand..." his voice trails off. 

"You don't have to invite him." He shrugs.

"It's worth the try. I'm going to call them and get Hope up." Nodding, I turn and scoop the eggs onto a plate. He steps out of the room and I fix some pancakes. When he comes back in the room, I'm setting the table and he has Hope in his arms. She's laying her head on his shoulder and her eyes are closed. Her fist is balled around Shawn's shirt.

"Someone's sleepy," I smile, walking over to them. Shawn gives me Hope and kisses my head. Hope lays her head on my shoulder and I shake her awake. "You gotta wake up baby."

"How's working at the cafe going?" Shawn asks, sitting down at the table. I walk around and try to wake Hope up. She's not much of a morning baby.

"Great. It's already so much better than the bar. Thank you for helping me get the job."

"I'm glad it's not like that damn bar." Putting Hope in her high chair, I sit next to him. He grabs my hand and looks at me. Smiling, I squeeze his hand and begin eating.

When we finish, Katie has already arrived. She plays with Hope and Shawn and I wash the dishes. Someone knocks on the door and I dry off my hands. Opening the door, I see Haylie standing there with a box in her hand. Smiling, I hug her.

After a while, everyone has arrived except for Mason. 

"Do you want to go ahead and open presents?" Shawn questions.

"Did he say he was coming?" Shawn shrugs. Nodding, I pick Hope up and sit on the couch. Shawn sits next to me and puts his arm around my shoulder.

"Who's going first?" Katie asks. Grabbing Katie's present from under the tree, I hand it to her.

"You can." She smiles and tears into the wrapping paper. She opens the box and gasps. I smile. She pulls out the sketch pad and colored pencils.

"Thank you, Maya. I've wanted this for so long!" She stands and hugs me and I hug her back. She sits back down and there's a knock at the door. Standing, I rest Hope on my hip and open the door. There stands someone I've been dreading to see.

"Dad? Why are you here?" I question. The room behind me is silent. His blue eyes find Hope.

"Is that her? Is that my granddaughter?" He questions. His voice is shaky.

"What do you want?"

"I want to see my girls."

"You shouldn't be here." Tears burn in my eyes. The man who kicked me out on the street wants to come back into my life.

"I'm sorry, Maya. I am but I can't change the past. I want to be in my granddaughter's life." 

"You had your chance but you threw it out. There were several times you could have reached out to me. Goodbye, dad." Slowly, I close the door. Taking a deep breath, I turn and sit back on the couch next to Shawn. He wraps his arms around me and kisses my temple. Pulling Hope closer to me, the next person opens their presents.